More Exedy Clutch Disc Failure... And general transmission woes.

Apologies in advance for this long-winded rant...

I don't know what it is about this car and it's clutch and/or transmission issues. I've had it for not even 3 years, and am on my fourth transmission, and (soon) third clutch. Excluding the original 1zz drivetrain. I've put about 22k miles on this car since I completed the 2zz swap.

Granted, the first transmission (c60) didn't get any worse while it was in... I just got really sick of the third gear grind (or miss), so when the first clutch disc (Exedy stage 2) failed, I replaced the c60 with the original c56 that came with the car, and installed a Southbend Stage 2 daily with CC light flywheel.

Second transmission failure (c56) probably was my fault, since I did the quick and dirty LSD swap on it. Pretty sure a diff bearing gave out in that one.

Then I decided to spend real money on a JDM c56 with LSD (no need to crack this one open and screw it up for myself). Input shaft bearing started getting shitty within 60 days. Now, 10 months after purchase and 8 months after the vendor started ignoring me and the dispute process began, I am still fighting tooth and nail for my money on this one. 

Number 4.... Supposedly the original SMT trans from BusDriver's car. Only 35k-ish miles on it... And a Quaife LSD in it. Once I got the bugs out, it shifts beautifully. Thank you Bryon Bailey. 

But now another dead clutch disk.

...and before you say "this guy sucks at driving manual" and/or "this guy is just hammering the piss out of his car" I must try to redeem myself to some degree. I make no claim to be the world's best manual transmission driver... My heel-toe shifting is mediocre at best, but I've been driving manuals exclusively since I started driving. I have owned 7 previous vehicles and own 2 currently. All manuals. I know it isn't a huge list compared to some folks, but I have never encountered this much drivetrain trouble with any previous vehicle. I've rebuilt two Honda transmission for myself and they were the smoothest shifting gearboxes I've ever owned. I miss them both. 4 of my previous vehicles got a new clutch under my ownership, but none of them got a clutch because it was necessary... They got a clutch because I was there anyway, or I wanted more clutch to go with more power from the engine. None of the transmissions I've built/installed or clutches I've installed have failed under my ownership.... Until the MR2.

The first clutch was an Exedy stage 2 daily. I bought it used, locally, from a guy who was parting out his smashed Celica. He said it had about 10k miles on it, and he provided proof of purchase showing he bought it 10 months prior. The hardware all looked to be in very good shape and it was really cheap considering I was also buying his c60 transmission and a couple of other bits. Once the car was together, and I was hooning my way through the crappy tires that came with my car, I'll admit I was hammering it pretty hard at this point. 5k miles later a spring broke free of the clutch hub and wedged itself against the pressure plate. I documented this all on AdChat... May dig that up later and add it to here as well. Once I got the disc out I found fractures in the hub around the spring housings all over the place, and learned others have had this same issue with premature exedy disc failures. ~15k was all it took for mine.

I researched extensively what clutch to install next... Up until this point, Exedy had always been a go-to option. After reading tons of glowing reviews, and noting the much higher torque capacity rating for Southbend Stage 2 daily compared to other stage 2 daily's, I decided it would be a good fit for my future supercharger build while still being streetable while NA. When I got the kit, I immediately noticed the fact that the clutch disc said EXEDY on it... And upon closer inspection, the same exact part number as the broken Exedy stage 2 disc laying in my garage. 🤦‍♂️ I spent weeks debating whether to install the new clutch or not... And after multiple emails exchanged with a southbend rep, I was told they take the new exedy disc and remanufacture it with their own friction materials. I was reassured they had not had any customers experience the same kinds of hub failures. HAH. A change in friction materials could change the impact to the hub... So why not. The parts were in hand, the car had been in pieces for months and I wanted it back. Splines were greased, as well as clutch fork contact points. I broke the disc in over 1000 miles. Nice and easy. I was determined it would last if taken care of. It outlasted two transmissions... and did so flawlessly. I never felt the need to even pull the pressure plate off when I had the chance. I had full faith. I never launched the car once on this clutch and I quit power shifting once this clutch was in too. Especially once I got sticky tires on the car, the only reason the tires are broken free is from lateral forces or slick/wet pavement, not dumping the clutch and hammering the drivetrain.

Now, 11.5k miles later my clutch feels a little funny for 5 minutes then does not fully disengage, if at all. At least I made it back to my driveway before something went *clank*. This morning I got the boroscope out and after a lot of working it around, rotating the flywheel, hearing an occasional little clinking from the bell housing I finally spotted something that looked very out of place. I will post the pictures shortly (different device), but my best guess is it's this small metal bit between the two haves of the hub. I can't seem to find a name for the particular piece but again something to do with the torsional spring housing:

Crappy pictures from inside the bell housing:

I am at a loss at this point. Can anyone shed any light on this? Am I doing something wrong? Is my car just cursed? Do Exedy's discs just suck now and are never to be trusted again?

So damn sick of yanking gearboxes in and out of this car. Getting quite good at it thou.... If anyone nearby needs help with dropping a gearbox.... I'm your guy...